The present invention relates to a vehicular side view mirror and, more particularly, to a vehicular side view minor including an illuminating device to provide a waterproof effect and to reduce the number of elements for assembling purposes.
A vehicle generally includes exterior left and right side view minors permitting the driver to be aware of vehicles and pedestrians behind the two sides of the vehicle. However, the conventional side view minors only provide a passive safety function. In an improvement for providing an active illuminating alarm function, the side view minor includes an illuminating device mounted behind a minor, and a rear cover is coupled to a periphery of the minor. The light rays emitted by the illuminating device transmit through the minor. The illuminating device can provide different alarming effects according to different needs. For example, the illuminating device can work in conjunction with an obstacle sensor and can illuminate to provide an active alarm effect when the vehicle is near an obstacle. In another example, the illuminating device can be utilized as a vehicular turn signal to provide a directional warning function.
Current side view minors with an illuminating device include various structures. In a design, a substrate is bonded to a rear side of a minor. The emitting direction of electromagnetic radiation emitters mounted on the substrate is away from the minor. A reflector is mounted behind the substrate and is aligned with the electromagnetic radiation emitters. The electromagnetic radiation from the electromagnetic radiation emitters is reflected by the reflector and then transmits through the minor. An example of such a design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,948. However, the electromagnetic radiation does not transmit through an optical lens and, thus, provides low illuminating efficiency. Furthermore, since rainwater is liable to penetrate into the side view minor and since the reflector is simply bonded to the substrate, the moisture is apt to penetrate in between the reflector and the substrate, leading to damage to the circuit elements and the electromagnetic radiation emitters.
In another design, an illuminating device is mounted behind a lens and is then enveloped by a housing. The emitting direction of the illuminating device is directly towards the mirror. A light control optical element is mounted between the illuminating device and the mirror, such that the light rays from the illuminating device are concentrated by the light control optical element and then transmit through the minor to provide better illuminating efficiency. An example of such a design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,243. However, the illuminating device does not include any waterproof mechanism, such that water penetrating into the side view minor can damage the circuit elements and the illuminating device. Furthermore, the light control optical element is a separate component increasing the number and the costs of the elements for assembling purposes.
In another design, a side view mirror includes a back plate, a minor reflective element, a housing, a circuit element, an illumination source, a diffuse element, a casing, and an indicia element. The back plate is assembled to the mirror reflective element. The illumination source, the circuit element and the diffuser element are mounted in the housing. The diffuser element is located in front of the illumination source. The light rays emitted by the illumination source pass through the diffuser element for scattering purpose and then transmit through the indicia element and the mirror reflective element. The casing is mounted to a rear opening of the housing to seal the housing. An example of such a design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,013,288. The assembling between the casing and the housing improves the waterproof effect. However, gaps still exist between the cover and the housing and at the wire location of the circuit element. Furthermore, the diffuser element is a separate component increasing the number and the costs of the elements for assembling purposes.